May 15, 2012

There are some folks who often erroneously presume that the Great
Trek of the 19th cent was from Cape Town [ as noted by the author cited
in source # 17 of: The Cape Rebels Were Not Cape Dutch. ] when in fact
the Great Trek was virtually entirely from the Cape frontier where the Boer
population had developed at least 150 years prior. This confusion likely arises from the fact
that the centennial celebration of the Great Trek was organized to start
at Cape Town but that did not reflect the true history concerning the
matter. One of the main reasons for recreating the Great Trek as starting at Cape Town during
the centennial celebrations was no doubt to
foster a monolithic Afrikaner identity so as to cover up the distinct
Boer identity of the participants of the Great Trek. The Boer people of the frontier
were much more prone to trek [ & in fact had a long history of trekking ] due to their long standing anti-colonial
outlook & desire for independence & freedom on the
African continent. This outlook was not shared by the Cape Town & Cape Dutch population.

The principle participants during the era of the Great Trek were the Boer people of the Cape frontier. The Boers emerged on the Cape frontier starting during the late 17th cent [ just a few decades after the initial arrival of the Dutch East India Company ] & trekked further inland throughout the 1700s. The Boers are the descendents of the Trekboers who settled into the Cape frontier region. The folks who would appropriate the term Afrikaner in a political context [ circa late 19th cent ] where then still known as the Cape Dutch during the era of the Great Trek & remained where they were during the Great Trek.

The Republic of South Africa declared on May 31 1961 was only
ever a republic in name alone thus a nominal republic as it maintained
the British Westminster system & turned the post of Governor-General into a
ceremonial State President.

[ The Constitution of the
Republic differed remarkably little from the Union Constitution. The
object of the exercise was to bring about a single political loyalty for
all White South Africans, not a new system. Nationalists hoped that the
English speakers would abandon their dual loyalty once they could no
longer look to Britain as a fatherland. ] From: Page 494. The Afrikaners: biography of a people. By Hermann Buhr Giliomee.

The
notable Boer Patriot Robert van Tonder left the National Party in 1961
over that party's betrayal of the Boer Republics [ & noted that the RSA was a threat to Boer identity ] & started
advocating for the restoration of the Boer Republics as the only measure
to ensure the survival of the Boer people / nation.